A Mosque Near Ground Zero?!

Given the way opponents of the plan to build a Muslim cultural center near ground zero are being portrayed in the media, one can be forgiven the impression that they are all anti-Muslim bigots. And, alas, the way some right-wing nuts are crusading against it only reinforces this impression. Talk about giving al-Qaeda fodder for propaganda…. Mind you, this center will include, among other things, a gymnasium as well as a mosque.

But there are bona fide liberals who are equally opposed.  And I happen to be sympathetic to their view that:

Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam… But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. Building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain – unnecessarily – and that is not right.  

(The Anti-Defamation League, Huffington Post, August 6, 2010)

Nevertheless, I believe the bedrock principles of freedom of religion and good old-fashioned capitalism far outweigh any concerns about offending the sensibilities of “some” whose loved ones died on 9/11. More to the point, it would set an untenable and unsustainable precedent for cities to start zoning off areas based on the prevailing sentimentality of the moment. Never mind the inconvenient truth that strip clubs compete with porn shops all around the so-called “hallowed ground” where this mosque will be built.

Meanwhile, given the way relatives of the victims of 9/11 are being portrayed in the media, one can be forgiven the impression that they all oppose this mosque.  But nothing could be further from the truth. 

Frankly, I don’t know of a single poll that has been taken on this issue to determine even if a majority of them share the sentimental and religious indignation being vented by these vociferous opponents. Not to mention that some of these surviving relatives have become so zealous in venting their self-righteous and overbearing grief that they show no regard for the sensibilities of Muslims whose loved ones died as well. 

In any case, I’m reminded that a great deal of media attention was paid to the so-called families of 9/11 who opposed the rebuilding of any commercial space on the actual site of ground zero.  But back then politicians from all over the country put this sentimentality into proper perspective by calling for the building of a memorial to the dead in the shadow of new towering monuments to capitalism.

This is why, despite my sympathy and the fear that radical Muslims might regard the building of a mosque in this location as a psychological victory, I endorse the view that:

This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions or favor one over another. The World Trade Center site will forever hold a special place in our city, in our hearts. But we would be untrue to the best part of ourselves and who we are as New Yorkers and Americans if we said no to a mosque in lower Manhattan.

Let us not forget that Muslims were among those murdered on 9/11, and that our Muslim neighbors grieved with us as New Yorkers and as Americans. We would betray our values and play into our enemies’ hands if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else. In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists, and we should not stand for that…

Political controversies come and go, but our values and our traditions endure, and there is no neighborhood in this city that is off-limits to God’s love and mercy, as the religious leaders here with us can attest.

(New York Mayor Bloomberg, New York Post, August 4, 2010)

Allahu Akbar!